A survey among mobile phone owners shows that 43 percent of Bulgarians check their smartphones at least several times within one hour and 48 percent admit to returning home if they have forgotten their phone even if they are late , BTA reported.

The survey was conducted in January of this year in Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Turkey by the international IPSOS research company commissioned by a manufacturing company. In Bulgaria, 502 people were interviewed. Nearly three quarters of Bulgarian respondents admit that their phone is with them more than 13 hours a day. Almost all, 98 percent, always take the phone with them when they leave their homes. A quarter uses the device actively between 3 and 4 hours a day. Every fifth comes in with their phone in the bathroom, 67 percent in the kitchen, and 51 percent in their kid's room. (Bulgaria ranks 1st in this indicator among all 12 countries).

Bulgarian consumers use their smartphone to search for information, entertainment, surfing in social networks, checking news, using navigation, and contacting banking institutions. The typical Bulgarian consumer uses the smartphone to send messages (72 per cent), take pictures (89 per cent), enter social networks (85 per cent). According to the survey company, 60 percent of Bulgarians use their smartphones for email correspondence, for checking social networks and for sending messages before they go to bed.